Hello All,
Well, what appears to be an interesting trek, as Rick warns, is full of potential harm to small vessels ( such as beach cats),...take his post as serious information.
We cross over from St. Croix to St. Thomas here in the Caribbean for the race seasons. It is around 35 miles of open ocean.
Sometimes, it has been very nice,..and uneventful,.....other times,..**##%%@@!!!.
Surprizingly enough, there are no 'nice ocean rollers', for the waves bounce off the islands and do there own thing( even at 35 miles between them)
Once you are out of sight of land,..it is tremendously ALONE and the reality hits you,.....if something went wrong,..even minor,...you are stuck!
Luckily, we were always prepared with sound rigs and nothing happens.
The trip takes 3 hours 40-ish minute on a good day,....and 5 hours on a light day.
With proper support by attending motor vessels, we have planned a distance race, as a feeder to regattas,..but it never jelled,.....last year I shipped the I-17 over and eventually sailed it back a month or so later with a friends I-20............by the way, the I-20 is an excellant open water boat,....the I-17 is not( it just pitches too much in big seas)......
....it could be fun if you do it right....,..I think a ARC 27 with a 22 foot beam and outboard may be your answer here....
regards,
Bruce
St. Croix
